PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday took the allies of the ruling PML-N into confidence on the imposition of Governor’s Rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that the Centre had made every effort to avoid this “extreme step”. He held a meeting with leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) as well as a separate huddle with a parliamentary delegation comprising representatives of PML-Q, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) and PML-Zia. Talking to them and addressing the parliamentary party meeting of the PML(N) the Prime Minister said negotiations had nearly reached an agreement but the process was derailed. He alleged that the provincial government had tried to obstruct the country’s development and promoted sit-ins and abusive language instead of strengthening the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in KP.
The rationale given by the Prime Minister to dislodge the provincial government of the PTI and imposition of the Governor’s Rule is understandable and allies of the ruling party approve of the measures but the Opposition has termed the process of talks as ‘sham’ alleging there was a pre-plan to proclaim emergency in the province. The PTI also believes a political crisis is being portrayed as a security challenge, which would complicate things further. The views of the two sides notwithstanding, the fact remains the steps taken by the Federal Government were purely constitutional and endorsement of the allies means these will easily get approval of the parliament, giving them required political legitimacy. In democracy, the will of the majority matters and the Opposition can try to gain necessary support for non-approval of the Governor’s Rule by the parliament. There is also no doubt that the entire issue had political dimensions as well but it is a reality that the security situation in KP deteriorated during rule of the PTI and the provincial government was not extending necessary support to the Federal Government in addressing the problem effectively. This is despite the fact that the Federal Government had provided more than Rs.800 billion to KP under the National Finance Commission (NFC) arrangements to support efforts against terrorism. As highlighted by the Prime Minister, the provincial government did not take effective measures to strengthen the capacity of its Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and establish Safe City projects to improve its counterterrorism capabilities. Similarly, it kept its eyes close to the sense of deprivation prevailing among personnel of KP police force on account of huge disparity in salary vis-à-vis police force in other provinces and no worthwhile initiative was launched to strengthen capabilities of the force, which was supposed to fight terrorists equipped with latest weapons and gadgets. Apart from terrorism, people of KP, like other provinces, faced problems like backwardness, poverty, illiteracy, disease and unemployment.
There were complaints that instead of paying attention to these and other issues including development of communication, health and educational facilities, the provincial government wasted its time on planning protests and marches against the Federal Government. It was in this backdrop that the Prime Minister contended, there was “not zero, but negative attention” towards these matters and “all attention and resources” were instead diverted towards long marches and protests, aimed at destabilizing the Federal Government. People of Pakistan in general and those of twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in particular suffered hugely during the last many years due to repeat of the politics of violence and lockdown. Courts frequently intervened to set parameters for such protests but these were openly violated. It is time all political parties make a firm commitment not to resort to the politics of confrontation and instead pursue their goals through peaceful and constitutional means. At the same time, the united opposition has, in a declaration, has emphasized the importance of mutual consultations and political dialogue, which augurs well for national harmony if the objective is pursued with necessary sincerity.